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An Ohio State blog for the Buckeye fan in all of us.Sun, 02 Aug 2015 18:25:44 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=4.2.3TBDBITL Report: Second Finalist for Director Position to Visit Campushttp://thebuckeyebattlecry.com/tbdbitl/tbdbitl-report-second-finalist-for-director-position-to-visit-campus.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=tbdbitl-report-second-finalist-for-director-position-to-visit-campus
http://thebuckeyebattlecry.com/tbdbitl/tbdbitl-report-second-finalist-for-director-position-to-visit-campus.html#commentsMon, 06 Apr 2015 21:35:30 +0000http://thebuckeyebattlecry.com/?p=55790

Last week we reported that two finalists for the position of Ohio State University Marching Band director had been invited to visit campus. In that article we reported that the first finalist to visit was Dr. Corey Spurlin who currently is the director of the Auburn University Marching band; Dr. Spurlin was on campus last […]

Last week we reported that two finalists for the position of Ohio State University Marching Band director had been invited to visit campus. In that article we reported that the first finalist to visit was Dr. Corey Spurlin who currently is the director of the Auburn University Marching band; Dr. Spurlin was on campus last Wednesday and Thursday. We can now reveal that the second finalist for the TBDBITL director position is Professor Barry Houser from Illinois and he will be visiting campus this Monday and Tuesday.

Professor Houser is currently the Director of Illinois Marching Band, the Marching Illini, and the Athletic Bands. He also is the Assistant Director of Bands at the university and conducts the Illinois Wind Orchestra while teaching wind band conducting and marching band procedures. Professor Houser got his Bachelor of Music Education from the University of Florida and his Master of Music in Wind Conducting from the University of Illinois.

As the director of another Big Ten band, Professor Houser is obviously very familiar with the OSUMB, its style, reputation, and many of its traditions. All Big Ten bands have a positive relationship with each other and there is a great amount of respect amongst the bands. This relationship between the bands is vital to allowing Big Ten bands to travel and perform at road games as doing so requires the home band and their director to give up some of its performance time; many directors also have had to pull strings with their athletic department to make sure that the visiting band actually has seats at the game. Professor Houser talked about these relationships between bands in 2013 when the OSUMB visited Illinois and the two bands teamed up for a postgame concert on campus following the game.

Like the Auburn Marching Band, the Marching Illini features a very different makeup to the OSUMB. The Marching Illini feature woodwinds, flags, and twirlers in addition to brass and percussion. The Marching Illini are also noticeably larger than the OSUMB, having 306 musicians plus 56 flags and twirlers compared to TBDBITL’s 225 musicians. Like with the OSUMB, not all members of the Marching Illini perform at each game with the Performance Block featuring 222 musicians and 48 flags and twirlers; the OSUMB has 192 regulars who perform each week with the rest being alternates. While the method of determining alternates at Illinois is different from that at OSU, the alternates serve a similar purpose of pushing the regular members to be at the top of their game while also assisting with props and other things at a performance and being ready to fill in for a performance on short notice.

As we did last week with the Auburn band, let’s take a look at some of the Marching Illini’s performances in an attempt to get a better understand of what Professor Houser has done there. The first video is of the band’s pregame show from a 2013 game against Cincinnati. Like most pregame shows it is a collection of school songs and other traditions and is solidly done; there is more standing and playing than I would like but that is true for many band’s pregame shows.

The second video is an appropriate themed halftime show from a 2013 Illinois game at Soldier Field. As was the case with the Auburn Marching Band, the Marching Illinois are more of a corps style band that performs drill of a more contemporary style than we have seen from the OSUMB in recent years; the OSUMB has done contemporary-style drill in the past. There was definitely more park-and-blow sections in the drill than I would like but that isn’t unusual for corps style bands. Overall it was a good show and the band’s sound and musicality was very good which is an often overlooked thing for marching bands.

Both Dr. Spurlin and Professor Houser seem to be very qualified candidates who lead very good college marching bands. The fact that both of them would apply for the position of OSUMB director says a lot about their respect for TBDBITL as most people won’t leave a comfortable current job unless it for a position that is a step up.

It is hard to guess which finalist will get the position in the end as that will be primarily determined from what goes on during their campus visits. During a typical campus visit for a faculty hire, the candidate will meet with the search committee, various members of the department, and some members of the administration, normally the head of the department, the Dean of that college, and maybe someone from the Provost’s office. At large, R1 universities like Ohio State, a candidate may or may not be asked to teach a class so it is encouraging that both candidates are getting the chance to lead the Athletic Band for a rehearsal and that student feedback is being sought from those band members. Both candidates also will meet with current members of the OSUMB.

The timeline from here has not yet been revealed but based on how faculty searches normally go, I would expect the search committee to submit its recommendation to the head of the School of Music sometime next week. The head of the SOM will them make their recommendation to the Dean of the College who will then make their recommendation to the Provost. At that point, the Provost will make a decision and then typically run that decision by the Human Resources department before making an offer to the selected candidate. The candidate and the university will then typically engage in a period of negotiation before the candidate makes a decision. All the levels of bureaucracy and then the negotiation take time so it is likely than the new OSUMB director will not be announced until the end of April.

The day after Halloween, night game in Ohio Stadium, and two weeks to prepare a show is a recipe for something special from the Ohio State University Marching Band and like always, the band made sure not to disappoint. Halloween themed shows are very common for college marching bands and numerous stadiums around the country […]

The day after Halloween, night game in Ohio Stadium, and two weeks to prepare a show is a recipe for something special from the Ohio State University Marching Band and like always, the band made sure not to disappoint. Halloween themed shows are very common for college marching bands and numerous stadiums around the country probably were filled with theme songs from horror movies or Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” last weekend. The OSUMB didn’t go that route but still went with a show that seemed appropriate for the weekend as aliens descended on Ohio Stadium.

Pregame got underway on Saturday with the band taking to the field with the traditional ramp entrance. The band then came back up the field while saluting the visiting Illini before bringing the crowd back to its feet with Script Ohio. The band then honored the opening of the new James Cancer Center by spelling out ‘The James’ to the tune of “I Wanna Go Back” and then performing “Carmen Ohio”. Pregame concluded with the standard tunnel sequence, team entrance, and playing of “The Star Spangled Banner”.

Things probably looked a little different to fans at halftime when the band took to the field and faced the East sideline. Normally the band performs toward the press box side of the stadium, the West sideline, but one show a year, they flip it around and perform to the opposite side to give fans there a treat. This performance is always appreciated by fans on the East side of the stadium and many people feel that the band should perform more shows to that side as the East side of the stadium tends to stay pretty full at halftime while those in the expensive seats on the West side tend to head to the luxury boxes or concession stands.

TBDBITL’s “They Came From Outer Space” show opened with “Also Sprach Zarathustra” which featured famously in the movie 2001. The astronomer in me was thrilled to see the band forming the planet Saturn though its wobbling on its axis was a little unrealistic. The planet then morphed into the familiar delta shield logo of Star Trek as the band played music from JJ Abrams’ reboot of the franchise. After some quick rotating line drill, the band formed the starship Enterprise which sailed across the field before disintegrating and reforming into a hand which then gave the Vulcan ‘live long and prosper’ salute. Moving on to another blockbuster movie set in space with music from Apollo 13 as the band formed a rocket and launch tower. After liftoff, the rocket reformed into an alien head which then morphed into a patriotic salute to NASA. The show concluded with music from Independence Day and of course the band formed a fighter jet which promptly destroyed a flying saucer.

This was another great show from the OSUMB which really showed off their marching and playing ability. The drill featured fun, recognizable picture formations but also some up-tempo marching between picture sets which added a nice bit of variety. This was important as while the picture sets are awesome, they are clearly losing their novelty and the band needs to make sure to mix things up. Music for this show was arranged by John Brennan, a good friend of mine from when I was in band and the arranger of the famous video game show from 2012. John once again did a great job on the arrangements, giving all of the different instruments in the band a chance to shine.

The OSUMB was originally scheduled to perform a concert in the Schuster Center in Dayton this week but following the firing of Jonathan Waters as director of the band, the event was cancelled. While no full explanation has been made public, rumors had it that the promoter of the concert cancelled it because he did not want to support the university.

Even without the Dayton concert, this will be a busy week for the marching band as they will travel to support the team in East Lansing on Saturday. The band has a long stand policy of not staying in the state of Michigan and not spending money there unless they absolutely have to; this policy supposedly dates back to a story of Woody Hayes refusing to buy gas in Michigan while on a recruiting trip and having to push his car back across the border when he ran out of fuel. Thus, when TBDBITL goes to games in Ann Arbor or East Lansing, they will normally spend the night in the Toledo area on Friday after performing a concert. This year’s concert will be at 8:00pm on Friday at Hoover Auditorium in Lakeside, Ohio; tickets are $10 and can be purchased online.

Saturday morning, the band will then load into their buses and drive north to East Lansing for the game against Michigan State. This will be the biggest Big Ten game of the year and is going to be a tough matchup for the football team; hopefully having the band there for support and to help energize Buckeye fans will help give the team a needed boost in the game.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LINRbXn4nWo Turtle! Turtle, turtle, turtle, turtle! Tim Beckman bring the Fightin’? Illini into the Shoe for a night game on a chilly November night. We’ll see if Reilly O’Toole can build on his success from the upset of Minnesota last week and if Ohio State will be able to solve some of the problems that […]

Tim Beckman bring the Fightin’? Illini into the Shoe for a night game on a chilly November night.

We’ll see if Reilly O’Toole can build on his success from the upset of Minnesota last week and if Ohio State will be able to solve some of the problems that they experienced last week against Penn State.

This will be our updating live conversation for the Buckeyes’ return to Columbus… our sports bar across the nation, if you will.

You know the drill- sign up for an account and get in the game! Even if you’re on your couch, you’re only allowed to wear white if it’s got scarlet and gray on it as well.

Game kicks off around 8 PM EST on ABC, we’ll jump into the comments at about 7:30.

We’re honored to be joined by a real live journalist from a real live newspaper- Matt Daniels from the Champaign News-Gazette was gracious enough to join us for a little Q&A. Be sure their Illini site a follow on twitter to stay in touch with another B1G Brother. It’s IlliBuck week! How excited is everyone […]

It’s IlliBuck week! How excited is everyone for another contest for the great wooden turtle?

Spirit Animal

Folks in Champaign-Urbana are probably looking forward more to the start of basketball with former Ohio State assistant John Groce’s third season at the helm of the Illini nearly here. Then interest falls to basketball recruiting, with football nestled in third place. But the unlikely win against Minnesota has more eyes watching Tim Beckman’s program heading into November than at any point in his first two seasons.

As far as the IlliniBuck, since Illinois hasn’t won the coveted wooden turtle since 2007, it’s not a topic broached often around these parts. Some of the current Illini players weren’t even in middle school the last time Illinois was able to capture the elusive treasure.

Tim Beckman has ties to both Urban Meyer and Ohio State, so we’re fans hereabouts. After the great win on Saturday, do you believe that he’s taken himself off of the hot-seat, or does he need to do more to save his job?

There’s still a large segment of Illinois f ans unhappy with Tim Beckman’s performance at Illinois. A 10-22 record, not to mention a 2-18 mark in the Big Ten, has led to much of the negative vibes thrown his way.

Minnesota’s schedule is brutal in November, and it’s no guarantee the Golden Gophers will win another game. If Illinois drops its final four games, calls will intensify for Illinois athletic director Mike Thomas to possibly make a move. The win against Minnesota was certainly Beckman’s biggest so far in his tenure at Illinois, but more wins need to happen in the final month of the season for him to rest easier in December.

Nathan Scheelhaus doesn’t have any eligibility left, does he?

Flighty Illini

No, Nathan Scheelhaase finally graduated. He’s doing well, living in Louisville and working in the ministry. He still stays tuned into what his former school is up to, though, and was in attendance at the dreadful loss against Purdue three weeks ago.

Scheelhaase looks like he could still go out there and play, but last season’s Big Ten leader in passing yards (shocking words to type considering how much of a run threat he was in his first two seasons) will pay particularly close attention to Reilly O’Toole on Saturday night. O’Toole was a groomsmen in Scheelhaase’s wedding in July 2013.

The Illini had an amazing season in 2007, ending in a Rose Bowl berth. And yet they’ve struggled ever since… what do you attribute that to?

That’s the million-dollar question and one that perplexes Illinois fans to no end. Ron Zook, with the help of Juice Williams, Rashard Mendenhall,
Arrelious Benn and countless others, was able to steer Illinois to the 2007 Rose Bowl. Of course, winning at the Horseshoe was a big part of that season.

Recruiting took a dive in the final few seasons under Zook, and the results played out for themselves the last two seasons. Illinois wasn’t getting enough quality players to stay competitive in the Big Ten. Illinois will never lock down its home state and the massive recruiting footprint of the Chicago area, but given the resources, the fertile recruiting territory that’s within driving distance of Champaign, there’s no reason to think Illinois shouldn’t be a team that’s consistently in the bowl picture come mid-November.

Welcome to the “Hey, our backup quarterback ain’t that bad!” club. What does Reilly O’Toole bring to the offense that they were missing under Oklahoma State transfer Wes Lunt? What’s Lunt’s recovery prognosis?

Dual Threat

O’Toole can run. By no means is he the second coming of Scheelhaase or Juice Williams. But his ability to evade opposing defenders with his option runs and smart decision-making makes Illinois a different team than when Wes Lunt is in at quarterback. Lunt is the prototypical pocket passer. When he’s in the game, defenses know he won’t hurt them with a scramble. O’Toole can, and did quite often against Minnesota, rushing for a team-high 59 yards on 17 carries.

Lunt is expected back in time for the Illini’s game on Nov. 15 against Iowa, but it will be interesting to see what happens if the unthinkable happens and O’Toole is able to engineer an upset against the Buckeyes on Saturday night. Do you go back to a quarterback with the rocket laser arm (no offense, Peyton Manning) or do you stick with a quarterback who has won two Big Ten games in a row with your team a win away from bowl eligibility?

How in the world did a kid named “Reilly O’Toole” not end up at Notre Dame?

Good question. Sounds like he should have, doesn’t it? O’Toole starred at Wheaton Warrenville South High School in suburban Chicago, winning two state titles and taking home The News-Gazette’s All-State Player of the Year honors in 2010. We’ve been publishing an All-State team for the last 78 seasons, so that’s some pretty lofty company. He committed to Illinois the summer before his senior season and stayed true to Ron Zook when other schools came calling.

Illinois has a long, great history of defensive excellence, and Coach Meyer talked on Monday about the improvement that he’s seen in Champaign on that side of the ball. Who are some players that Ohio State fans should be aware of, and the Buckeye offense will need to account for?

V’Angelo Bentley is a Cleveland native who is seemingly making big plays on defense at his cornerback spot. His 12-yard fumble return against Minnesota with less than seven minutes left provided the game-winning score, and his interception return for a touchdown earlier this season against Texas State sealed the win against the Bobcats.

Cleveland Proud

T.J. Neal is a promising middle linebacker. The redshirt sophomore from Pennsylvania had a game-high 12 tackles against the Golden Gophers and forced the fumble that Bentley promptly scooped up and took to the house. Earnest Thomas, a hybrid linebacker/defensive back, is coming off the best game of his career with 2 1/2 sacks against Minnesota. He’s the Illini’s best bet to disrupt plays behind the line of scrimmage.

Make no mistake, though. The Illini run defense still has a long way to go. A long way.

Recruiting is the lifeblood of programmatic success. What’s your sense for the recruiting focus of the Illini? What are some areas that you’d like to see strengthened?

Affable

When Beckman and his staff arrived at Illinois, they hit Ohio hard from a recruiting standpoint, getting players like Bentley, linebacker Mason Monheim, center Joe Spencer and others from the Buckeye state.

That has since waned a bit, and understandably so since Beckman last coached at Toledo during the 2011 season. They still have some connections in the state they like to tap into, but only one commit so far in the 2015 class, offensive lineman Zeke Martin from Medina, hails from Ohio.

They’re trying to hit the Chicago area hard when it comes to recruiting, but so is just about every Big Ten program. They have three commits right now from the area, and two other in-state prospects as well.

The class Beckman and his staff have produced so far is easily their best class of the four they’ve put together at Illinois. He’s also done a decent job of going into Texas and grabbing some players (three so far) that he feels could make a difference.

The biggest gripe, however, is that Illinois isn’t landing enough four-star players and certainly aren’t grabbing any five-star players. Zook pulled off some recruiting gems during his time, but Beckman hasn’t delivered in that area so far.

The big emphasis the Illini put on recruiting comes from offering prospects early and if they’re able to land a commitment, develop them when they arrive at Illinois. Mikey Dudek is one of the best players Illinois has this season, and the true freshman wideout only had an offer from North Dakota before he committed to Illinois. Illinois is hoping to hit more on recruits like that, which they have a better chance of landing right now, than elite four- and five-star talents.

]]>http://thebuckeyebattlecry.com/college-football/ohio-state-football/across-the-web-illinois-3.html/feed0What Do You Want To See On Saturday? Illinoishttp://thebuckeyebattlecry.com/college-football/ohio-state-football/what-do-you-want-to-see-on-saturday-illinois-3.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=what-do-you-want-to-see-on-saturday-illinois-3
http://thebuckeyebattlecry.com/college-football/ohio-state-football/what-do-you-want-to-see-on-saturday-illinois-3.html#commentsFri, 31 Oct 2014 14:35:25 +0000http://thebuckeyebattlecry.com/?p=50477

From here on out, I think we all want to see Ohio State win by 60 points each week. The Buckeyes received no love at all from the playoff committee. Perhaps a pasting of Illinois and a win by Virginia Tech will help things. But before I get too far ahead of myself, OSU has […]

From here on out, I think we all want to see Ohio State win by 60 points each week.

The Buckeyes received no love at all from the playoff committee. Perhaps a pasting of Illinois and a win by Virginia Tech will help things.

But before I get too far ahead of myself, OSU has some work to do on the field after a near-debacle in Happy Valley. A seemingly safe 17-0 lead that was going to become 24-0 was erased, thanks in part to an early pick-6.

So against B1G patsy Illinois OSU has a chance to work out some of the kinks from last week, right? Not those Kinks, silly.

Can You Be As Loud As Penn State?

So what are we looking for? As usual, I’ll start.

A win: Natch.

A shutout: Dudes need it.

A loud and obnoxious Shoe: Yes, it’s only Illinois. But it’s a night game. It’s the Shoe.

Two of a Kind, Workin’ on a Full House: Taking the wife to her first country concert, Garth Brooks in Lexington Saturday evening. Hoping to hear all of the Garth standards.

MaliBuckeye

Health, wealthy, and wise: No injuries, particularly of the “QB” variety.

Focused: No looking to next week.

O’Toole’d: Looked solid last week against Minnesota —can the Silver Bullets continue their growth and shut down the Illini attack?

No false starts: Cost the Buckeyes a touchdown in Penn State.

Crowd chaos: Ohio State fans are amazing, but spoiled. Last week they were shown the true meaning of “home field advantage”… will they show up on Saturday?

I like turtles: Keep the big wooden bastard at home, please.

Another Lonely Week?

WVaBuckeye

No punts: No offense to Aussie, but I do not want to see him take the field this week.

New Rushing Mark: They have always been susceptible to the run and El Guapo came close to breaking Eddie’s mark last year. Since the midriff look is back with EZE, maybe he can break it?

Perfect 3rd down conversions: I know I am asking for a lot, but consistency will be needed for this to happen.

Mike

Roaring 50’s: Getting back in the offensive groove and hanging 50 on them.

Department of Defense: A swarming defense with everyone getting involved.

No self-inflicted wounds: See Chuck on NO FALSE STARTS!

Better play calling: Coaches can improve as well and should never stop learning.

Staying tight: Keeping the TEs involved will be key as it has been a positive this year.

No binoculars: No looking ahead past Illinois to MSU. Play this one and worry about that one next week!

No injuries: Self explanatory.

Patrick

Quick start: Need to continue to be consistent and get out of the gates fast.

Second quarter: This team seems to take the second quarter off in games. It’s almost as if Urban says let’s use the second quarter as a test quarter. Let’s put together 30 solid minutes of football in the first half.

Run the ball: Take the pressure off JT and let him heal a bit. Let’s get the ball into Elliott’s and Samuel’s hands 30+ times in the first half.

Shutout: Go out and make a statement defensively. No stupid penalties and pitch the shut out.

Oy. That’s about all I can say at this point. Northwestern let me down again and I sit seven games behind Ken in my quest to repeat as the Pick ‘Em champion. I’m not giving up. It ain’t over yet. But I do have my work cut out for me. Ken was perfect last week, […]

]]>http://thebuckeyebattlecry.com/college-football/ohio-state-football/pick-em-week-9-it-aint-over-till-its-over.html/feed0Pick ’em Week 3: Newbie still leading (but not for long)http://thebuckeyebattlecry.com/college-football/pick-em-week-3-newbie-still-leading-but-not-for-long.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=pick-em-week-3-newbie-still-leading-but-not-for-long
http://thebuckeyebattlecry.com/college-football/pick-em-week-3-newbie-still-leading-but-not-for-long.html#commentsThu, 11 Sep 2014 17:00:49 +0000http://thebuckeyebattlecry.com/?p=48476When does basketball season start? At least I predicted that Illinois would be on upset alert. Not sure how the Illini survived. Since we picked the same games last week, I wasn’t able to gain any ground on Ken and his soon-t0-be erased one-game lead. We nailed the Penn State, Wisconsin, Rutgers, Illinois, Maryland, Nebraska, […]

We missed badly with Purdue, Northwestern and Ohio State. Not a bad week, actually. Just wish Ohio State had showed up.

Anyhow, this week’s slate of games should make for some interesting picks. There will be another upset. Just don’t know where.

I’m not picking any that would be shocking but it will happen somewhere. And just for the record, my picks were submitted before Ken.

I like Maryland over West Virginia. The Mountaineers won’t be able to recover from that disappointment against Alabama two weeks ago.

I really want to take Bowling Green over Indiana but I’m going to give the Hoosiers nod with an extra week to prepare.

Michigan will thump Miami of Ohio.Bad week for the Cradle of Coaches to be visiting The Big Louse. Uh, House.

Iowa will be somewhat solid against Iowa State, a team searching for its first win.

TCU will thump visiting Minnesota, likewise Washington over Illinois.

Notre Dame will be on upset alert because of the proverbial letdown after a big win over TTUN. But the Fighting Irish should cruise.

Rutgers hosting Penn State will be an interesting game, with all the Ray Rice and Jerry Sandusky baggage out there. I’ll take the home team.

Nebraska will be the only other road team to win, topping hapless Fresno State. Of course, the Buckeyes will come out focused and absolutely beat the snot out of Kent State.

See What Sticks

Ken is at it again:

“I didn’t gain any ground on Scott last week since he decided to draft in my wake. On the other hand, I didn’t lose any ground either. Since I’m in the lead, that’ll work, too,” he said.

We will see.

Buckeyes bounce back to get to over .500 for the season while the Terps are too much at home for West Virginia. Bowling Green is a little better at home against Hoosier Daddy while the Perennial B1G CoY is too much for Iowa State, Iowa wins.

TTUN looks to avoid a shut this week and, surprisingly, wins. Well, it is Miami of Ohio. Minnesota visits TCU. Kill’s Killers won’t travel well this week and will lose. Likewise for Beckman’s Bruisers when Illinois visits Washington.

Purdue is at Notre Dame in a laugher: ha ha ha.

PSU is excited because the Nittany Lions can play in the post-season and tops Rutgers on the road. Nebraska just needs Ameer Abdullah to top Fresno State.

]]>http://thebuckeyebattlecry.com/college-football/pick-em-week-3-newbie-still-leading-but-not-for-long.html/feed0Pick ‘Em Week Two: Newbie In The Leadhttp://thebuckeyebattlecry.com/college-football/pick-em-week-2-newbie-has-the-lead.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=pick-em-week-2-newbie-has-the-lead
http://thebuckeyebattlecry.com/college-football/pick-em-week-2-newbie-has-the-lead.html#commentsThu, 04 Sep 2014 17:05:31 +0000http://thebuckeyebattlecry.com/?p=48247Well, if Wisconsin hadn’t choked, yours truly would be off to a good start defending his Pick ’em title. But I accept being a game behind after one week. I have Ken right where he wants me. Or something like that. The Newbie is already talking smack. “I’m in the lead and all is right […]

]]>Well, if Wisconsin hadn’t choked, yours truly would be off to a good start defending his Pick ’em title.

But I accept being a game behind after one week. I have Ken right where he wants me. Or something like that.

The Newbie is already talking smack.

“I’m in the lead and all is right in the Cosmos,” Ken said.

It’s a one-game lead, dude. Settle down.

We both missed on Washington State. I had Central Florida over State Penn. Ken had it the other way. I took Cal over Northwestern. Ken chose to stay true to the B1G. For some reason he picked LSU.

Funny thing is, when he was talking smack, his email referred to ND-UCF and luck of the Irish. I should dock him a game for that comment, since ND didn’t play UCF. Unless I missed something. Ken?

Anyhoo. On to week 2.

Some interesting games this week.

Ken says PSU doesn’t need a last second FG to beat Akron;the Boilermakers and The Hat barely beat Central Michigan and a second-half collapse won’t hurt the Badgers against another directional Illinois.

He likes Rutgers to beat Howard. Howard’s logo is the same “Charging Bull” as a certain NFL team. That’s all you need to know. Ouch. Illinois will handle Western Kentucky but the defense better be ready as the WKU QB threw for 569 yds/6 TDs last week. Ken says Maryland will edge South Florida and Nebraska will beat McNeese State in the Seriously II? game.

Northern Illinois visits Northwestern and Ken is hoping that Wildcats can play 60 minutes of football this week. Iowa should handle Ball State in a game that David Letterman won’t think is funny.

The Minnesota Gophers will have no trouble with sixth directional school on B1G’s schedule this week and Sparty will find out Oregon is not Jacksonville State. Only because it’s a home game, Ken is picking Notre Dame. Besides, it’s played same time as OSU-VT game, so you won’t be watching it.

BeamerBall comes to Columbus 1-0. BeamerBall leaves Columbus 1-1.

This seems like an odd time for a bye week, but Ken is going with Indiana.

I hate to do this but in all honesty, I’m going with the same picks Ken is. I can’t find a game I could pick differently just to do it and feel good about myself. But I will say two teams will have to either score late or hang on late to survive a horrible loss: Illinois and Purdon’t.

Scott kind of feels like this today. Don’t mess with him.

So to recap: Aw hell. Just go back up and read it again if you can’t remember. I’m tired and testy.

]]>http://thebuckeyebattlecry.com/college-football/pick-em-week-2-newbie-has-the-lead.html/feed02014 Big Ten Conference Preview: West Divisionhttp://thebuckeyebattlecry.com/college-football/2014-big-ten-conference-preview-west-division.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=2014-big-ten-conference-preview-west-division
http://thebuckeyebattlecry.com/college-football/2014-big-ten-conference-preview-west-division.html#commentsMon, 30 Jun 2014 12:36:18 +0000http://www.thebuckeyebattlecry.com/?p=45384Not content to only preview Ohio State’s schedule, Patrick is taking a two part look at the B1G for 2014. Here’s a look at the newbies and our Western Division brethren; after lunch the East gets due scrutiny in addition to the championship game predictions. When the dust settled on the 2013-14 season, the B1G […]

Not content to only preview Ohio State’s schedule, Patrick is taking a two part look at the B1G for 2014. Here’s a look at the newbies and our Western Division brethren; after lunch the East gets due scrutiny in addition to the championship game predictions.

Motivation Fuel

When the dust settled on the 2013-14 season, the B1G had a Rose Bowl champion and……another bad bowl record as a conference.

Michigan State and Nebraska were the lone winners (Rose and Gator Bowls respectively) and the conference was 2-7 overall. Yet even after that showing, many pundits feel like the B1G is poised to be a top tier conference this season. When the season opens, they will more than likely have two top 10 teams (Michigan State and Ohio State) as well as a slew of others ranked in the top 25.

The B1G welcomes two new members this season as well. Maryland and Rutgers will make their football debuts in 2014. The B1G received a ton of criticism for the recent additions. Other conferences such as the SEC are adding schools like Texas A&M and Missouri while many people feel the B1G adding “schedule padders” for football. What people won’t tell you is that these two schools gets the B1G into markets (Washington DC and New York) that they haven’t been in since its inception.

The non conference schedules for a lot of the B1G schools is very very good this season. Defending champion MSU will travel west to Eugene, Oregon to take on the Ducks, Ohio State welcomes Va Tech into Columbus, Wisconsin takes on LSU in Houston, Nebraska travels to Fresno for a battle with Fresno St and then back home the following week to take on the Miami Hurricanes, Michigan will try to avenge a loss to Appalachian St (did I really just type that) as well as take on Notre Dame for the last time and welcome the Utes of Utah to Ann Arbor, and Minnesota will travel to Texas to battle TCU. The B1G as a conference will need a lot of wins from these non conference tilts in order to gain some respect from the rest of the country and the national media

2014 will also mark the first year of new conference alignment. Gone are the awful Leaders and Legends divisions and we finally get a traditional East/West divisions.

*2014 will also mark the 3rd year that Penn State will be ineligible for post season play.

2014 WEST PREVIEW

Even though the B1G divided up the divisions by east/west location, many feel the west is by far the weaker of the two. Nebraska and Wisconsin should battle for the next few years for the west crown with little challenge.

PREDICTED FINISH

Wisconsin

Nebraska

Iowa

Northwestern

Minnesota

Illinois

Purdue

What Will Year 2 Bring?

WISCONSIN 9-4 (6-2)

Wisconsin has the luxury of not having Ohio State, Michigan State, or Michigan on their schedule this season. With road games at Northwestern and Iowa being their only tough road tilts, a trip to Indy may come down to the week 10 matchup at home versus Nebraska. This will be the first matchup of these two since the 70-31 thrashing at the 2012 B1G Championship Game. I think Montee Ball and company are still running over the Black Shirts. The Badgers have only 8 returning starters, so Melvin Gordon and Joel Stave will have to be strong and score a lot of points while Gary Andersen’s defense gels.

Best In The West… Best In The B1G?

NEBRASKA 9-4 (5-3)

Nebraska did fair as well with the schedule Gods as the Badgers. The Huskers have road games at Michigan State, Northwestern, Wisconsin, and Iowa. If Nebraska can dodge that gauntlet of road games, they may very well find their way to Indy. Turnover machine Taylor Martinez is gone and they have a Heisman candidate in Ameer Abdullah and possible first overall pick in the 2015 draft, Randy Gregory. Many feel that Bo Pelini may be coaching for his Nebraska life after a rather disappointing and hectic year for the coach. Pelini redeemed himself somewhat with a win over Georgia in the Gator Bowl. Pelini may need more than just a cute cuddly cat and a bowl win to make it on to the 2015 season.

Due For Another “Hot” Year?

IOWA 8-5 (5-3)

Iowa looks to build off of what ended up being a very strong 2014 season. After losing close games to Michigan State and Ohio State, the Hawkeyes went on to win 4 of their next 5 B1G games but lost 21-14 to LSU in the Outback Bowl. The Hawkeyes schedule shapes up very good for them. They miss OSU, MSU, and UM as well this year and have the two toughest games of their B1G season in weeks 11 and 12 when they take on Wisconsin and Nebraska, both at home. Despite the losses on defense and a rather easy schedule, Kirk Fehrentz has qb Jake Rudock, left tackle Brandon Scherff (projected 1st round pick), and running back Mark Weisman headlining his offense and should improve on last years 8 wins.

He’s Back…

NORTHWESTERN 5-7 (1-7)

The wildcats were kings of the world heading into their week 5 matchup against the Buckeyes last year. Game Day was in the house, every national writer and talk show host was talking up the Wildcats and how they could end Urban Meyer’s winning streak to start his Buckeye career and how Northwestern could finally become a national power. That all came to a screeching halt as the Wildcats collapsed in the second half only previewing the collapse that was about to come. Northwestern went on to lose their next 6 in a row, albeit almost all close games, and ended the season by beating Illinois. They won’t have to deal with the Buckeyes this season and get Wisconsin, Nebraska, and Michigan at home. Road games against Penn State and Iowa seem to be the only B1G road challenges. A return to a bowl game is quite likely, but to approach 10 wins again, as they did in 2012 and were supposed to do in 2013, they’ll need to get back that old close-game form (or luck). They’ll need to prove that last year’s breakdowns have forged better leadership and wisdom.

Hoping For A Healthy Campaign

MINNESOTA 8-5 (4-4)

The Gophers look for more consistency in 2014. They began the 2013 B1G season with 2 losses only to win their next 4 B1G games only to lose to Wisconsin and Michigan State. The good news is that they were very competitive in their losses to both of those schools. Many wonder if Jerry Kill’s health is more of a distraction than a motivation for the Gophers. Their 2014 B1G schedule is nothing short of, well, hard. They close out the season with Iowa, Ohio State, Nebraska, and Wisconsin. Short of overachieving in 2014, the Gophers may not find themselves bowling for a third straight season.

TPBU Transfer Gunslinger

ILLINOIS 4-8 (1-7)

As Tim Beckman enters his 3rd year as head coach, many think and expect Illinois to improve for a 3rd straight year. The fighting Illini got off to a great start in 2013 starting 3-2 including a win over Cincinnati and a close defeat to Washington on the road. Then the B1G part of the schedule hit and it all fell apart. Other than a close win over Purdue late in the season, Illinois was nothing more than an after thought for most B1G teams. 2014’s schedule is, well, brutal, and this is the reason I have them so low. Their road B1G schedule has them traveling to Nebraska, Wisconsin, Ohio State, and Northwestern. You’d assume the home tilt would be easier…..not so fast my friend. Iowa, Penn State, and Minnesota will make the trek into Champaign (okay, so does Purdue) to round out a brutal B1G schedule. The fighting Tim Beckman’s will have a tough time improving on the 4-8 record of 2013.

We Heart The Hat

PURDUE 1-11 (0-8)

Let’s call the 2013 football season a “redshirt” year for head coach Darrell Hazel. It took a last second INT to give Hazel his only win in 2013 against Indiana State. A 4 point loss to Illinois was his only close B1G game of the season. When Hazel arrived in 2013 the cupboards were basically bare. The Boilermakers get Iowa, Michigan State, Wisconsin, and Northwestern at home, still, how do you look at that schedule and see anything more than about a 3-9 or 4-8 record? It would take a pretty significant upset for PU to do any better than 1-3 in conference home games, and while trips to Illinois, Minnesota, and perhaps Indiana are in no way intimidating, all three of those teams are still projected quite a bit higher than Purdue in 2014. Granted, three or four wins would represent improvement, but you’d still like the ceiling to be higher than that. And it’s hard to see Purdue’s ceiling getting too much higher in 2014 or, perhaps, even 2015.

Check back later today for a look at the East and my guesses for the B1G Championship Game.